Devils Lake inter-ocean. (Devils Lake, Ramsey Co., Dakota [N.D.]) 1884-1905, 1887-07-30

shot Mnl-anu 1t is all your fault! And if he
is dead l will never speak to you again"
The old man reiterated. somewhat dis.
mayed at this outburst, which was not at all
In Bessie's style.
"Ah, well" he said to himself, "that is the
way of women; they turn into tigers about q
man!'
There may have been truth i'll this rehec.
ton, but a tiger is not a pleasant domestic
pet, as poor Silas found out during the next
two months. The more Bessie thought about
the matter the more incensed she grew at his
having sent her lover away. Indeed, in a
little while she quite forgot that she had her.
self acquiesced in his going. In short, her
temper completely gave way under the strain,
that at last her uncle scarcely dared to men.
tion Johns
Meanwhile things had been going as i'll
without as within. First of all-that was the
day after Johns departure-two or three
loyal Beers and an English storekeeper from
Lake Christie, in New Scotland, o%utspanned
on the place and came and implored Silas
Croft to fly for his life into Natal while there
was yet time. They said that the Beers
would certainly shoot any Englishmen who
might be sufficiently defenseless. But the old
man would not listen.
81 am an Englishinan-civis Romanus
sum" he said, in his sturdy fashion, land
do not believe that they will touch ME, who
have lived among them for twenty years.
At any rate, l am not going to run away and
leave my place at the mercy Of u pack OF
thieves. If they shoot me they will have ia
reckon with England for the deed, so l ex-
pect that they will leave me alone. Bessie
can go if she likes, but l shall stop here and
see the row through, and there's an end of it. :
Whereon, Bessie having fatty declined to
bulge an inch, tho loyalists departed IN a
hurry, metaphorically wringing their hands
at such an exhibition of ill placed confidence
and insular pride. This little scene occurred
at dinner time, and after dinner old Silas
proceeded to hurl defiance at his foes i'll an.
other fashion. Going to u cupboard in his
bedroom, he extracted an exceedingly large
Union Jack, and promptly advanced with il
to an open spot between two Of the orange
trees in front of tho house, where a flagstaff
was planted, formed of Il very tall young
blue gum, in such a position that it could be
seen for miles around. On this flagstaff il
was old Silas' habit to hoist the Union Jack
on the queens birthday, Christmas day and
other state occasions.
snow, Jantje," he said, when lie had bent
on the flag, run her up, and I'll cheer" and
accordingly, as the broad flag loated out OIL
the breeze, he took Off his hat and waved it
and gave such a "hip, hip, hurrah." in hi,
stentorian tones that Bessie came running
down from tho house to see what was the
matter. Nor was he satisfied with this, but
having obtained q ladder, he placed it agains,
the post and sent Jantje up it, instructine
HIM r. fnSfnN fl,n pN,,, ~, .rIs,l, tla Ill.,, .-,.
bent about fifteen feet from the ground, SC
that nobody should get at it to haul it down
"Thcrc," no said, "Ive nailed my colors t
the mast. That will show these gentry thai
All Englishman lives here.
"Coufound their politics,
Frustratc their knavish tricks
God save the queen"
"Anlen," sail Bessie, but she had her doubt:
about the wisdom Of that Union Jack which,
whenever tho wind blew, streamed out O
visible defiance not calculated to soothe the
breast of excited patriots.
Indeed, two days after that, a patrol Of
three ioers, spying tho ensign while yet u
long way off, came g%alloping up in hot haste
to SEQ what it meant. Silas SOW them COM,
ing, and, taking his rifle in his hand, wen,
and stood beneath the flag, for which he had
an almost superstitious vencration, feeling
sure that they would not daro to NEEDLE
either with him or it.
What is the meaning of this, ON Silas!
asked the leader of the three men, with all OF
whom lie was perfectly acquainted.
at means that IN Englishman lives here,
JAM" was the answer.
"Haul the dirty rag down. said the man.
Il will see You id first!' replied old
Silas.
Tlcreupon tho Boer dismounted and made
for the Flagstaff, only to find Uncle Croft's
rifle in u direct line with his chest.
"fou will have to shoot mo first, Jan" he
said, and thereon, after some consultation,
they left him and went away.
The fact was that, Notwithstanding that
he was an Englishman, Silas Croft was very
popular with the Beers, most of whom had
known him since they were children, and q
member of whose volksraad he had twice
been. 1t was to this personal popularity that
he wed the fact that he was not turned GU,
Of bis house and forced to choose between
serving against his countrymen or being i'm.
prisoned and otherwise maltreatel at the
very commencement Of the rebellion.
For n fortnight or more after this flag episode
nothing of any Importance happened, and
then came the nov of the crushing defeat al
Laing's Mex. At first Silas Croft would moi
believe the news "No general could have
been SO mad" he said; but soon the report
was amply confirmed from native sources.
Another week passed, and with it came the
news Of the British defeat ut Ingogo. The
first they heard Of it was on the morning OF
Feb. S, when Jantje brought q Kaflir up &c
the veranda at breakfast time. This kafIiI
said that he had been watching the fight from
a mountain; that the English were completely
hemmcd in and fighting well, but that "thci,
arms were tired, " and that they would all be
killed at night time. Tho Beers, lie said
were not suffering at all-the English could
not shoot straight" After hearing this they
passed q sufficiently miserable day and even.
ing. About IL o'clock that night, however,
q native spy Mr. Croft had dispatched came
back with the report that the English general
had got safely back to camp, having suffered
heavily and abandoned his wounded, many Of
whom had died in the rain, for the night
after the battle was wet.
Then came another long pause, during
which no reliable news reached them, though
the air was thick with rumors, and old Silas
was made happy by hearing that large re-en.
forccments were on their way from England.
"Ah, Bessie, my dear, they will soon sing
another tune now" he said, in great glee;
"and what's more, it's about time they did.
l can't understand what the soldiers have
been about-I can't indeed"
And so the time woro heavily along till at
last there came q dreadful day which Bessie
will never forget as long as she lives. 1t was
the Goth of February-just a week before the
final disaster at Majuba Hill. Bessie was
standing idly On the veranda, looking down
the long avenue of blue gums, where the
shadows formed q dark network to catch the
wandering rays Of light. The place looked
very peaceful, and certainly no one could
have known from its appearance that q